Hugo Kraas

Hugo Kraas (25 January 1911-20 February 1980) was a Brigadefuhrer of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler and the last commander of the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend during World War II.

Biography
Hugo Kraas was born on 25 January 1911 in Witten, Westphalia, German Empire. Kraas joined the Nazi Party and Sturmabteilung in 1934, and he served in the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler during the Invasion of Poland in World War II. Kraas was awarded the Iron Cross for bravery in Holland, and following the Third Battle of Kharkov Kraas was promoted to Obersturmbannfuhrer, and he took command of the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend on 13 November 1944. Kraas surrendered to the US 261st Infantry Regiment of Stanley Eric Reinhart at the Enns River in Austria at the end of the war, and he died in 1980 in Selk, Schleswig-Holstein, West Germany.